Sunday, November 27, 2011
December 1st Meeting
The next Civic League meeting is Dec 1st at 7pm at the Laurel Ave Church of Christ. We will do our required business which should take 10-15 minutes and then we will have 45 minutes or so of fellowship. Please attend and say hello to your neighbors. We will have deserts, coffee, hot coco, and juice for the kids. Feel free to bring your families.
Tuesday, October 11, 2011
Team,
Great turnout at the October meeting for Mayor Krasnoff and Capt. Dunlap. We had 39 people in attendance and great group participation. Capt. Dunlap addressed some of the recent crimes in the neighborhood and the speeding issue as well. Mayor Krasnoff discussed numerous issues and answered questions from the group. He also provided phone numbers and points of contact for city departments. We sincerely appreciate the Mayor and Capt. Dunlap taking the time to attend and answer our questions.
The November will include a vote on the by-laws and some information on Holiday safety. The meeting will be held Nov. 3rd at 7pm at 1126 Laurel Ave.; hope to see you all there!
Adam
Saturday, October 1, 2011
October 6th Meeting
The meeting this month will be held on Thursday October 6th. Mayor Krasnoff plans to attend the meeting. He will likely speak for a few minutes and then take a couple of questions. Please bring a friend and let's have a great turnout for his visit. Also, please remember to keep your calendar free next Saturday morning for coffee and pastries at 1129 Lilac Ave from 0830 to 1100. Lastly, thanks to the city manager for getting that pothole on Laurel & Cobb fixed! If you have questions or comments please do not hesitate to send them my way.
Adam
NHCL President
Adam
NHCL President
Tuesday, September 13, 2011
Updated By-Laws
The draft Bylaws for the Civic League have been updated based on feedback received to date. Barring any critical comments between now and the Oct. meeting, the plan is to vote on these by-laws at that time. If you do have comments please send them to nhcivicleague@yahoo.com no later than September 30.
Draft By-Laws
Draft By-Laws
Wednesday, September 7, 2011
Town Meeting
What a great turnout at the town meeting Tuesday night! Many of the residents rose issues that we discuss routinely within the civic league. The negative aspect of that is many of the residents didn't know the civic league exists. Hopefully the town meeting served as a catalyst to attract new members. Please continue to request the "Respect our Neighborhood" signs and I will keep them coming. If you have issues or questions do not hesitate to contact me. See you October 6th.
Adam
Adam
City of Chesapeake Town Meeting in Norfolk Highlands - September 6, 2011
There was an excellent turnout for the Town Meeting at the Norfolk Highlands Primary School last night. Over one hundred local residents jammed into the school's small gymnasium to meet with the Chesapeake City Council. What followed was a lively discussion that highlighted concerns around the state of the Indian River Shopping Center, speeding vehicles along our residential streets, and code violations in the neighborhood.
The council was impressed by the large turnout, indicating that this is not always the case at other town meetings across the city. Twenty-five citizens - about a quarter of the attendees - rose to speak and submit their comments and questions to the council. The very first speaker was our own Norfolk Highlands Civic League president, Adam Arbogast, who among other comments, gave a "shameless plug" for the League. Concerns raised by the attendees ranged from storm debris cleanup to the fate of Dominion Power's coal fired power plant in Chesapeake to a young lady's very well prepared and presented petition to allow - the very limited - raising of chickens in residential areas.
Some of the most repeated concerns focused on the old Indian River Shopping Center. The center is in urgent need of renovation and rejuvenation and locals want the city to become an active partner in restoring the center to be a useful economic hub in the community. The council clearly heard our concerns and the City Manager has the action to come back with a comprehensive plan for the property.
The community also expressed that the city needs to take action on cars speeding along our residential streets. Residents highlighted the danger citing examples of past crashes in the neighborhood due to speeding. Residents also want the city to more strictly enforce city codes and standards, ranging from littering to the placement of dumpsters at construction sites to building permits. Citizens also want better enforcement of building codes to prevent any neglect of homes and businesses. There were both general and specific complaints about the maintenance of the storm water culverts and the need for contiguous sidewalks along the larger roadways including Sparrow, Rokeby, Providence and Military Highway.
Other comments touched on property taxes, police presence, our council election process, school budgets, the SoNo library decision, trash and recycling pick up in townhouse developments, and the need for a backup generator for the Aqua Virginia water well. Many residents also thanked the city for all the prompt attention and services that are so often delivered without much fanfare.
After the public comments, the city council members spoke and acknowledge the feedback. Regarding storm debris cleanup from Hurricane Irene, the city is working its way from west to east and Indian River should be services by next week. As mentioned earlier, the City Manager promised to come up with a comprehensive plan regarding the Indian River Shopping Center. Overall, the Council and the City Manager will prepare written responses to all the input from the meeting, which will be provided back to the questioner and will be posted to the city website. The Civic League will be looking at those response when they are available too.
In attendance from the City Council were Dr. Rick West, Dr. Ella Ward, Debbie Ritter, Scott Matheson, Suzy Kelly, Cliff Hayes, and Mayor Alan Krasnoff. Also present was City Manager William Harrell and some of his staff.
The council was impressed by the large turnout, indicating that this is not always the case at other town meetings across the city. Twenty-five citizens - about a quarter of the attendees - rose to speak and submit their comments and questions to the council. The very first speaker was our own Norfolk Highlands Civic League president, Adam Arbogast, who among other comments, gave a "shameless plug" for the League. Concerns raised by the attendees ranged from storm debris cleanup to the fate of Dominion Power's coal fired power plant in Chesapeake to a young lady's very well prepared and presented petition to allow - the very limited - raising of chickens in residential areas.
Some of the most repeated concerns focused on the old Indian River Shopping Center. The center is in urgent need of renovation and rejuvenation and locals want the city to become an active partner in restoring the center to be a useful economic hub in the community. The council clearly heard our concerns and the City Manager has the action to come back with a comprehensive plan for the property.
The community also expressed that the city needs to take action on cars speeding along our residential streets. Residents highlighted the danger citing examples of past crashes in the neighborhood due to speeding. Residents also want the city to more strictly enforce city codes and standards, ranging from littering to the placement of dumpsters at construction sites to building permits. Citizens also want better enforcement of building codes to prevent any neglect of homes and businesses. There were both general and specific complaints about the maintenance of the storm water culverts and the need for contiguous sidewalks along the larger roadways including Sparrow, Rokeby, Providence and Military Highway.
Other comments touched on property taxes, police presence, our council election process, school budgets, the SoNo library decision, trash and recycling pick up in townhouse developments, and the need for a backup generator for the Aqua Virginia water well. Many residents also thanked the city for all the prompt attention and services that are so often delivered without much fanfare.
After the public comments, the city council members spoke and acknowledge the feedback. Regarding storm debris cleanup from Hurricane Irene, the city is working its way from west to east and Indian River should be services by next week. As mentioned earlier, the City Manager promised to come up with a comprehensive plan regarding the Indian River Shopping Center. Overall, the Council and the City Manager will prepare written responses to all the input from the meeting, which will be provided back to the questioner and will be posted to the city website. The Civic League will be looking at those response when they are available too.
In attendance from the City Council were Dr. Rick West, Dr. Ella Ward, Debbie Ritter, Scott Matheson, Suzy Kelly, Cliff Hayes, and Mayor Alan Krasnoff. Also present was City Manager William Harrell and some of his staff.
Saturday, August 6, 2011
History of the Indian River Area
The Indian River is a small tidal estuary river flowing into the Eastern Branch of the Elizabeth River. Located in the City of Chesapeake, it is wedged between Norfolk to the north and west and Virginia Beach to the east. Native people have lived in the general area for 10,000 years. By the time the Jamestown colonist arrived only a small tribe remained in the area, aptly named Ehesepiooc or Chesapeake, numbering perhaps 350; by a census in 1669, none remained. For the next two and a half centuries, the area along Indian River was rural, home to planters, farmers and watermen working the Elizabeth River.
Providence Road, which skirts just south of the Indian River estuary was established by the early 1800's and can be seen on a map from 1822. The longer bridge and road over the Indian River exists by 1896 and was known as the Princess Anne Shell Road connecting Norfolk and Princess Anne Courthouse - the county seat of what will someday become the city of Virginia Beach. It was a "Shell Road" because it was paved with leftover oyster shells from the then abundant oyster houses that lined the Eastern Branch of the Elizabeth River. The area was obviously rural with small farms stretching away from the Norfolk and the then independent town of Berkeley. In the memoirs of Al Philips who moved to a farm in the area as a boy 1909, the Shell Road "consisted of a foundation of great quantities of oyster shells and its surface was very rough like coarse corduroy. Shell Road extended from the Norfolk County Line, past the Shumadine farm, our farm, and eastward across Providence Road at Thompson's Corner, all the way to Kempsville Road. The daily wagon traffic over many years had ground the shells fine."
Development started to pick up in the second decade of the 1900's. By this time the pollution of the Eastern Branch was wiping out the oyster industry and the last of the oyster houses closed. The main road was soon repaved in gravel and renamed Indian River Road. The Norfolk Highlands School - which continues today as the Norfolk Highlands Primary School - was established in 1913 along with the grid outline of streets that now graces this early suburb of Norfolk.
Development continued through the 20th century as Indian River Road morphed into a 6 lane thoroughfare busy with shopping centers and businesses serving both the local community and commuters on their way to the factories and shipyards along the Elizabeth River. The neighborhood has a diversity of housing, from century old architecture to recent in-fill, from affordable apartment complexes to pricey waterfront properties. The population has proven to be quite stable over the past several censuses as the community matured.
In recent years the community has lost a few of its businesses to the growth of the nearby malls. The 2007 shutdown of the Ford manufacturing plant a few miles down the road has also impacted business - from lunch spots to the league play at the bowling alley. But now the old Ford property has been sold to Jacoby Development, which plans to turn it into the "Virginia Renaissance Center" - a mixed-use industrial project with an emphasis on alternative energy products and technology.
Re-published with permission from the Indian River Observer Blog
References:
-Chesapeake Indian History
http://www.accessgenealogy.com/native/tribes/algonquian/chesapeakehist.htm
- Historical Maps of Virginia
http://alabamamaps.ua.edu/historicalmaps/us_states/virginia/index.html
- 1896 Map of Norfolk
http://cartweb.geography.ua.edu:9001/StyleServer/calcrgn?cat=North%20America%20and%20United%20States&item=States/Virginia/Virginia1896a.sid&wid=500&hei=400&props=item(Name,Description),cat(Name,Description)&style=simple/view-dhtml.xsl
- Alison Phillips' Farm Life Memoirs 1910-1935
http://www.moonstar.com/~acpjr/Dads/Memoirs/Index.html
- Staff and Community Promote 85 Years of Learning Excellence at Norfolk Highlands
http://www.highbeam.com/doc/1G1-68439897.html
- City of Chesapeake Department of Planning
http://www.chesapeake.va.us/services/depart/planning/complan/tourir.pdf
- In Ford's wake along Indian River Road
http://hamptonroads.com/node/288701
- Ford razes buildings at plant before finalizing sale
http://hamptonroads.com/2010/07/ford-razes-buildings-plant-finalizing-sale
Providence Road, which skirts just south of the Indian River estuary was established by the early 1800's and can be seen on a map from 1822. The longer bridge and road over the Indian River exists by 1896 and was known as the Princess Anne Shell Road connecting Norfolk and Princess Anne Courthouse - the county seat of what will someday become the city of Virginia Beach. It was a "Shell Road" because it was paved with leftover oyster shells from the then abundant oyster houses that lined the Eastern Branch of the Elizabeth River. The area was obviously rural with small farms stretching away from the Norfolk and the then independent town of Berkeley. In the memoirs of Al Philips who moved to a farm in the area as a boy 1909, the Shell Road "consisted of a foundation of great quantities of oyster shells and its surface was very rough like coarse corduroy. Shell Road extended from the Norfolk County Line, past the Shumadine farm, our farm, and eastward across Providence Road at Thompson's Corner, all the way to Kempsville Road. The daily wagon traffic over many years had ground the shells fine."
Development started to pick up in the second decade of the 1900's. By this time the pollution of the Eastern Branch was wiping out the oyster industry and the last of the oyster houses closed. The main road was soon repaved in gravel and renamed Indian River Road. The Norfolk Highlands School - which continues today as the Norfolk Highlands Primary School - was established in 1913 along with the grid outline of streets that now graces this early suburb of Norfolk.
Development continued through the 20th century as Indian River Road morphed into a 6 lane thoroughfare busy with shopping centers and businesses serving both the local community and commuters on their way to the factories and shipyards along the Elizabeth River. The neighborhood has a diversity of housing, from century old architecture to recent in-fill, from affordable apartment complexes to pricey waterfront properties. The population has proven to be quite stable over the past several censuses as the community matured.
In recent years the community has lost a few of its businesses to the growth of the nearby malls. The 2007 shutdown of the Ford manufacturing plant a few miles down the road has also impacted business - from lunch spots to the league play at the bowling alley. But now the old Ford property has been sold to Jacoby Development, which plans to turn it into the "Virginia Renaissance Center" - a mixed-use industrial project with an emphasis on alternative energy products and technology.
Re-published with permission from the Indian River Observer Blog
References:
-Chesapeake Indian History
http://www.accessgenealogy.com/native/tribes/algonquian/chesapeakehist.htm
- Historical Maps of Virginia
http://alabamamaps.ua.edu/historicalmaps/us_states/virginia/index.html
- 1896 Map of Norfolk
http://cartweb.geography.ua.edu:9001/StyleServer/calcrgn?cat=North%20America%20and%20United%20States&item=States/Virginia/Virginia1896a.sid&wid=500&hei=400&props=item(Name,Description),cat(Name,Description)&style=simple/view-dhtml.xsl
- Alison Phillips' Farm Life Memoirs 1910-1935
http://www.moonstar.com/~acpjr/Dads/Memoirs/Index.html
- Staff and Community Promote 85 Years of Learning Excellence at Norfolk Highlands
http://www.highbeam.com/doc/1G1-68439897.html
- City of Chesapeake Department of Planning
http://www.chesapeake.va.us/services/depart/planning/complan/tourir.pdf
- In Ford's wake along Indian River Road
http://hamptonroads.com/node/288701
- Ford razes buildings at plant before finalizing sale
http://hamptonroads.com/2010/07/ford-razes-buildings-plant-finalizing-sale
Thursday, August 4, 2011
August Meeting 8/4
The August meeting is on Thursday 7pm at the Laurel Ave Church of Christ. Come ready to discuss the Bylaws, Welcome Comittee, and Funding for Signs. Dee Dee Shaffer of Norfolk Highlands will be coming to speak about her efforts with City Council to get more police officers for the City of Chesapeake and specifically the 2nd precinct. See you there!
Wednesday, July 13, 2011
Draft Bylaws ready for review
The officers of the Civic League have completed a draft of the bylaws for the organization defining our rules of governance. The document is open for review and feedback should be sent to nhcivicleague@yahoo.com or raised at the August 4th meeting.
Review Draft Bylaws
Review Draft Bylaws
Wednesday, July 6, 2011
July Meeting
The next meeting of the Norfolk Highlands Civic League this Thursday, 7/7, 7pm, at Laurel Avenue Church of Christ.
Sunday, May 29, 2011
June Meeting
The next meeting of the Norfolk Highlands Civic League this Thursday, 6/2, 7pm, at Laurel Avenue Church of Christ.
Monday, January 17, 2011
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